


The Dark Blanket

by tears_of_the_sun



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Car Accidents, Drama, Major Character Injury, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:40:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26810803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tears_of_the_sun/pseuds/tears_of_the_sun
Summary: Spencer is injured in a sudden, unexpected crash.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	The Dark Blanket

**Author's Note:**

> This is short, and you may hate the ending. Also I don't think this is overly good, I haven't written since early May so I'm very rusty. If you make it through, thank you & let me know what you think.

A familiar comfort of darkness engulfed Spencer, cloaking him in a blanket of warmth. A warmth he hadn’t felt since his encounter with Hankel. 

~ 

Spencer awoke at three am to a familiar sound, his phone going off. He rolled over to see that it was Penelope calling him. This was no surprise; they probably had another case. He answered and rubbed his eyes. “Hello?” he asked into the phone. He groggily sat up and kicked the blankets off of him as the ever-so chipper Penelope Garcia greeted his ears. He had been right; they did have a case. 

Spencer pulled himself out of bed and tossed his phone down after hanging up with Garcia. Another day... another day to go through the motions, again. Spencer headed towards his bathroom and did the same usual tasks, brush teeth, wash face, comb hair, look dead at the mirror, get dressed. He came out of the bathroom and grabbed his bag, and phone, and out the door he went. He fumbled with his car keys; it was too early for him to take the subway. The team needed him there quickly anyways. Though, he did hate driving. He hated the uncertainty, the fact that he could only control his actions. The actions of others always made him nervous because he couldn’t calculate every outcome.

He walked down the steps out of his apartment building, and to the old car he called his own. He climbed in, throwing his bag in the seat next to him. Again, going through the motions. 

Key in engine, turn key, hold, release, foot on brake, shift gear, drive. Pull out. Turn signal, look-

Look both ways. Put on seatbelt. 

You. 

Always. 

Look. 

Both. 

Ways.

Especially at three in the morning, and you always put on your seatbelt. 

The first thing Spencer heard was the high squeal from the other cars brakes, and he turned to see light. All the white light, before it surrounded him. 

There was no pain.. just. A dark, comfort he had not felt in a while. 

~ 

The rest of the team was gathered around the table, waiting for Spencer to de-brief. Rossi was the first one to get slightly agitated at the kid being late, “Come on, I know the kid and cars aren’t friends. But forty-five minutes? He lives ten away.” He said, only partly joking around. Rossi glanced to Garcia, “You called him, right?”

Penelope took a second, double checked in her brain. “yes, sir. I did, though he sounded off. Probably just stressed,” she shrugged it off. 

JJ and Emily exchanged a nervous glance, “He will have to meet us at the jet, Penelope start the de-brief,” Emily said in a stern voice. Penelope nodded, and explained the newest case. 

The team listened, and then they headed to the jet. Both JJ and Penelope tried to call spencer, but his line went dead every time. 

When they arrived at the jet, and there was no spencer JJ argued to stay back and go looking for him, but this was a missing child case and they needed to leave ASAP with all hands on deck. Emily made JJ stay on the jet, and ordered Garcia to track down Spencer. 

Garcia traced all 9-1-1 calls between when she called spencer, and now and didn’t find anything that would explain his disappearance, or why his phone was dead. Beginning to worry, she traced his phone to his last known location and was confused to see that it was indeed his apartment. She tried to call his land line. She called ten times, each time leaving a more frantic voice mail. 

Spencer was many things, but he never didn’t show up. 

Penelope got up, and got her purse together and went to her car, and got in. She sighed quietly to her self, “Spencer, this better not end in another trip to the hospital.” She said firmly, then floored it to his apartment. She pulled up in front, seeing his car crushed to pieces. 

All of the blood drained from her face, and her heart sank. Not again 

No  
No  
No  
No  
Not again. 

Penelope ran over to his car, calling 911. She gave them a run down, then put her phone down to assess the damage. The car that hit Spencer’s was not here, so her only concern was boy wonder. 

The sight in front of her, mortified her. The driver’s side from the front door, to the front of the car was crushed. Spencer had been thrown so his upper thighs were against the steering wheel, and the rest of his body was over the middle console and laying limp across the passenger seat. There was blood… everywhere. She was convinced there was more blood on the outside of his body than on the inside. She shakily placed two of her fingers on his neck, to feel for a pulse. She was relieved to feel a very weak pulse, and she choked on a sob, “Spencer, you stay with me.” She said firmly. 

The paramedics arrived two minutes after the 911 call came in. They went to the car and immediately got to work, they got spencer onto a back board, and got a neck collar on him. They then loaded him into the ambulance, and Penelope followed in her car, calling Emily on the way. 

The conversation between the two ladies was brief. Penelope had to tell Emily, but because they were working on an active case, with a missing child, Emily knew she couldn’t tell the rest of the team. And that, well that just about may kill her. 

~ 

The paramedics pulled into the ambulance bay, and unloaded Spencer. They immediately disappeared behind heavy doors that Penelope knew she couldn’t pass. The team of doctors rushed Spencer to surgery. 

~

The first thing Spencer noticed was how dark it was. How.. comfortable he was here in the darkness. There was no pain, no fear.. it was safe, in the void and he knew that shouldn’t make sense. He shouldn’t want to stay here, in this dark safe place. No more pain. No more bullets, or watching his friends be almost killed in front of him. No more love confessions from his married best friend, no more girlfriends being shot, no more drugs… no more pain. No one could leave him here. He was safe here. 

~

The doctors had just started surgery on Spencer, when he coded. 

~ 

“This is it, kid” A distant voice, a voice he tried to place. It was Gideon’s voice, “Now you choose, to stay or go,”

Did he stay in the comfortable warmth, or did he go back to the people who need him?


End file.
